The baby found cut and bleeding in the woods near a rural Camdenton home is said to be gaining strength at a hospital. His mother, 39-year-old Bradie R. Simpson, remains hospitalized under the guard of Camden County sheriff's deputies.

The baby found cut and bleeding in the woods near a rural Camdenton home is said to be gaining strength at a hospital. Her mother, 39-year-old Bradie R. Simpson, remains hospitalized under the guard of Camden County sheriff's deputies.

"Everybody is improving," Capt. Kelly Luttrell of the Camden County Sheriff's Office said of the mother and baby involved in a bloody scene that played out early Saturday morning at a mobile home on Dry Ridge Road.

The baby underwent emergency surgery and is said to be improving after suffering cuts to her throat and wrist. Simpson is charged with first degree assault and armed criminal action. In his official request for Simpson's arrest warrant, Camden County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Keedy wrote, "the defendant cut the throat and the wrist of (the victim), and such conduct was a substantial step toward the commission of the crime of attempting to kill (the victim)."

Missouri law has no classification or definition for "attempted murder." Under Missouri law, Capt. Luttrell says first degree assault is, "the highest level crime you can be charged with without actually being charged with murder."

When deputies found Simpson and the child in the woods off of Dry Ridge Road at 4:00 a.m. Saturday, the baby was unresponsive. Simpson also had a laceration on her neck and was rushed to a hospital. She remains hospitalized under the watch of at least one Camden County deputy at all times. Deputies work in shifts standing guard when an arrested person is hospitalized, which Luttrell explained is standard operating procedure.

Because of her medical condition, Simpson does not have a set date to be arraigned in court. She will eventually be held in jail on a $200,000 cash and $500,000 surety bond.

-Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the gender of the baby. The Lake Sun apologizes for the error.